Shure SRH-940: Detail Monster

From big time microphone manufacturer Shure comes a new headphone designed to top the Shure SRH-840. Big thanks to Harris and Franky over at Shure Indonesia for lending us the unit used in this review.

I was really impressed with the semi hard case that they include with the SRH-940. A very welcome addition over the plain leatherette pouch I got for my SRH-840. And like with the SRH-840, you also get an extra set of pads with the SRH-940 except that the 940 comes with verlours instead of leather. In photographs or in real life, the dark silver finishing looks classier than the SRH-840’s matt black finish. But when you hold the two headphones in your hand, the SRH-840 feels more solid than the SRH-940. I don’t know if Shure lightens the plastic walls on the SRH-940 to get an overall lighter headphone, but the SRH-940’s lighter weight and clamping force is far more comfortable than the SRH-840. Since the pads on the SRH-940 are oval shaped, I find them to be more comfortable than the circular verlours on the Beyer full size headphones. Good stuff.

The hardcase is very nice.

Inside of the hardcase.

Removable cables with locking mechanism.

The changes in the sound signature is quite obvious. The SRH-940 is clearly a brighter headphone overall than the SRH-840. You get more treble, more clarity, more sparkle. The bass loses some body but it’s a lot clearer than the bass on the SRH-840. The result is a headphone that feels a lot lighter in the sound but is overall quicker in pace and even perceived transients. When I did the Closed Cans Shootout, one of the things that I wish was different is the presentation of vocals on the SRH-840, which was quite laid back in relation to other headphones like the Shure SRH-750DJ or the Audio Technica M-50. In this case, the SRH-940 has gotten the vocal presence just perfect. The vocals are forward and engaging, not too close or too glaring, and the instruments properly laid down on a different layer behind the vocal.

From a monitoring perspective, the SRH-940 is definitely an improvement over the SRH-840, and quite a big improvement too. Not only you get better clarity on the treble, but also very noticeable on the bass regions. For music listening, however, though vocal presence has been vastly improved, but the SRH-940 is dryer sounding than the SRH-840, so that’s something to keep in mind. The SRH-940 is also more critical of the recording and source quality, and although it’s a very desirable trait for a good monitoring headphone, the SRH-840’s more forgiving stance would be more preferable to us music listeners. Obviously Shure was building the SRH-940 to be a monitoring headphone, and in that sense I think the SRH-940 is a much better product than the SRH-840.

Although I’m used to listening to the Sennheiser HD800, still the amount of detail that you get from the SRH-940 is just staggering. I know that the HD800 is better in translating ambiance in the recordings and things like micro details, but even the HD800 doesn’t push all the details in the music out like the way the SRH-940 does. Now you need a good recording to hear all of this effect and for that 24/96 Classical music files are best, but even a moderately well recording like Jewel’s Spirit album is giving me goosebumps from the SRH-940 & Audinst HUD-MX1 combo. When I first listened to the SRH-940, I thought the headphone was a bit dry. But after some ~24 hours later, I think the dryness has subsided though it still is not as smooth as the SRH-840, mainly due to the verlour vs pleather pads differences.

SWAPPING PADS

When I received the SRH-940 and noticed that you get an extra sets of pads, I quickly thought that it would’ve been nice for Shure to give us pleather pads from the SRH-840 instead so we get to choose between verlour and pleather. After all, verlour is known to make sound brighter and reduce bass boominess (also takes out some bass body), while pleather does the opposite: darkens the sound and add bass body. But, guess what? I tried swapping the pads from the SRH-840 to the SRH-940 and vica versa, and I didn’t like the result. The effect I anticipated was there, the SRH-940 gains bass body, but it was more like an abrupt 3dB bump throughout the bass frequencies. Yes, you get more bass, but gone is the balance in the tonality and the smooth transition from the mids to the bass. Not recommended.

The opposite is also true with the SRH-840. Less bass with SRH-940 pads gives you better detail on the bass, but it did sound like an abrupt EQ to lower bass quantities, resulting in a somewhat hollow feeling on the low frequencies while adding some low treble to the mix. Let’s face it, the engineers at Shure knows their business and both the SRH-940 and the SRH-840 work best with the stock pads on. If you happen to feel that one headphone is not quite right, the best solution is to change to the other model entirely.

END THOUGHTS

Overall the SRH-940 is still primarily a linear headphone geared more toward monitoring, as most music listeners would prefer a fuller and punchier lows, more mid coloration, and a less intense treble, even if that means less detail levels and looser bass. In that sense you can take something totally different like the heavily warm and colored B&W P5 headphone, and feel that music flows better out of the P5. But there are times when we want to hear those details in the recordings, and in a way, the SRH-940 gives me almost the same detailed sensation I hear on the Beyerdynamic DT880 headphone, except with better mids and vocal reproduction.

Quite a winning product, in my opinion. Just remember that given the accurate, monitoring stance of the SRH-940, the headphones are very picky about your source and recording quality. Most of the harshness, sibilance, and extreme compression on mainstream recordings will be very audible through the SRH-940s. Likewise, old analog based recordings also don’t sound too good out of these.

AVAILABILITY

The Shure SRH-940 is available for $299 from Amazon.com, while the SRH-840 is available for a mere $140.74 from Amazon.com (down $109.26 from the $250 list price). I do think that the street price of the SRH-940 should be lower after a few months (in the US, at least).

208 Comments

Anonymous

Player1josh46

Hey Headfonia I’m looking into these headphones and I’m stuck between these and the 840s. Now here are my preferences.

Mid/Vocal to be focus while still having noticeable bass and non fatiguing treble. I listen to a variety of genres so if these can work for everything then great.( for hip hop, rap, electronic i dont need an abundance of bass, just a good quality bass.) My source is an iPod Touch 4g and my music is mostly 320kbps with some 192-256kbps in there as well. I previously had the M50s but didn’t like them because of their recessed mids. Now I am almost about to get the 940s cause I hear this is the best ones for my preferences.($250 max). Is this too bright and sibilant or is it fine for my needs.

Anonymous

Hi Josh, I think the SRH-940 may not work too well for you. The bass is not that punchy (and you need punchy bass for your music), and the treble can be fatiguing with hip hop, rap, and even more electronic music. I think you should be looking at the Sennheiser HD25-1 instead. Punchy bass, and the treble is not as bright as the SRH-940 while the vocal have very good focus and presence. The SRH-940 is better suited for monitoring in my opinion.

Anonymous

Anonymous

eagle1

This is exactly how I feel about these cans. A tad bright, but great mids and lacking bass! To tell you the truth, from a standpoint of music listening (not monitoring) I still find the 840s, even the 440s a bit better. Still, bear in mind that I listen without amp. Not sure how much came into play your Dac/amp combo (which is why I’m looking for a portable amp to see if it will bring more performance from these cans!) Thanks!

eagle1

Thanks for the rec’ Rudio. After reading the “Usual Suspects” article and the JDSLabs, E11, etc. reviews, I think I will wait for the Portable Amp Shootout <100 planned by Mike. These cans do not seem hard to drive and I'm sure a cheaper solution will suffice… I'll see if I can "step it up" after I get some time with one of those "cheaper" amps.

In fact, Mike, have you tried these headphones with the JDSLabs CMoy or the Fiio E11?

Anonymous

No I actually don’t like the bass boost on the JDS. I think it’s primarily a bass light headphone and so it’s best to enjoy it as such and not try to boost it. The drivers are very revealing and bass boosts turn out ugly on the SRH-940.

Anonymous

Anonymous

Yes I can understand what you say. The 840’s tonality is more suitable for music, though I prefer the vocal presentation of the SRH-940. If you’ve got a dark and low-end heavy amplifier, then you can make the tonality of the SRH-940 a little more like the SRH-840, but with neutral sounding amps, it’s not going to change much. The Shures are relatively good straight without a dedicated amp.

Anonymous

Katun

Excellent review! I always love reading reviews on a product I already own and love, because it makes me love it even more. XD

I actually put the M50 pads on these (yes, they fit), and found although they gained some bass, the tonality just sounded flat out weird. And they weren’t as comfortable either. Stock pads are great, I just wish they were a bit deeper, as after an hour or so when I remove them from my head, my ears definitely let me know that they have been pressed down for all this time. The headband is not my favorite thing in the world either, irritating me only second in worst to the K701’s headband. Yeah, I will admit, they feel quite cheap, and are creaky as well, but I still love the heck out of them. If they would have nailed the comfort and build as good as they did the sound, my HE-500’s would be gone in a heartbeat.

But, I do think they are fabulous headphones. And in fact, I would probably rank them as my 2nd favorite in sound out of everything I’ve tried, and 3rd favorite headphone overall (2nd place goes to HD598 because of their comfort and soundstage). A wonderful, wonderful sounding headphone.

Anonymous

Earfonia

Anonymous

Lol did you miss the conclusion paragraph?

“But there are times when we want to hear those details in the recordings, and in a way, the SRH-940 gives me almost the same detailed sensation I hear on the Beyerdynamic DT880 headphone, except with better mids and vocal reproduction.”

Anonymous

I just realized I failed to mention the slightest bit about the soundstage.

The soundstage is definitely good. It doesn’t jump at you as being extremely special (wide or deep), but if you take the time to listen to it, you would realize that the soundstage presentation is very good. The imaging is right, the center focus quite precise, the layering and depth good. So it was definitely a good soundstage performance.

I think the reason that I failed to mention about the soundstage in the review is again, the soundstage doesn’t strike you as being too special. The HD598 still has the upper edge in recreating a more believable ambiance (that factor that really puts you as being inside the venue — provided the recording is good).

When compared to the HD600, the HD600 would be more open sounding (well it’s an open headphone), but the soundstage three dimensionality is actually better on the SRH-940. With the HD650, the Shure’s soundstage is easier to notice if your system is entry level, but when the amplifier and source quality improves, the HD650 will scale up very well, where the SRH-940 doesn’t.

Aravind

Anonymous

Eric

I want to know what is the Pros and Cons of SRH-940 and Sony Z-1000 since I will be buying one of the headphone mainly for portable use. Also what to know which one has better soundstage, detail, tightest bass and the least coloration of the two headphones.

Anonymous

P. J.

hi, 1) can the srh940 compete with k701 for clarity, ability to reveal details ? Can you hear a breaking glass with great sharpness. 2) Is there a minimal bass “thump”, “impact”, so that you can enjoy something like techno. I’m not talking of the bass quantity, but a “punching” feeling if you see what I mean.

Some tests I’d be interested: 1) How is pop song “in the closet” by Michael Jackson when listening through them. I mean are the highs nicely played (lot of ear piercing highs in the song, and a breaking glass near begin). This song is so well known, don’t tell me you you can’t find a lossless version (I can’t barely listen to the sound of the breaking glass, on the compressed version at youtube).

2) How do you find the bass on Chester Beatty – Levanon B1 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvvO9JqJEO0). It thumps a minimum, is or is it just a muddy mess ? If there’s only percussions, with overall an ambient bass, that’s plain wrong.

3) There’s an incredible amount of subtle details in the song “le vielle amant” by “emilie simon” (also “en cendre” from same singer) . In particular the unusual plucking of the strings of a piano. If you could listen to a lossless version, that would be nice. Otherwise there’s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD9i-DaT9Rg . I guess it could by qualified as “acoustical”; but I think in this song, it’s even more subtle than that. Perhaps “plucked strings” with so short decay on notes , that they might be unnoticed if they are a bit “smeared”. Can you listen as much detail as with a k701 or any “detail revealing” headphone. I can currently listen more details from my senn IE7, than my hd595, on this particular song.

I’m trying to upgrade/change from my hd595, I just find them boring on the extreme ends (high & lows). Seems they “excel” only for vocals or elevator music. So does the shr940 do the trick, or should I look to something else. (for similar budget, I only have a xonar stx if amping can help). Thanks.

Anonymous

Hi Mehdi, 1. The SRH-940 is more detailed, but the K701 has a cleaner background and separation. 2. Bass is definitely lacking especially for techno. Get the Senn HD25-1 instead if thump and punch is what you want. I’ve recommended it to a lot of Techno fans.

Tests: 1. Sorry don’t have Michael Jackson in my Library. 🙂 I would again think that the Shure would be too bright and lacking bass for MJ. 2. I haven’t listened to that Youtube track, but the bass on the SRH-940 is all about detail and articulation, but not so much about punch and thump. 3. Detail level should be better than the K701.

What do you feel is missing from the HD595? Perhaps I can make a better recommendation.

The HD600, for instance, has excellent micro detail levels, and awesome bass impact and punch with a fairly good articulation too. It would play MJ very well, and the Xonar STX should be enough for it.

hi headphonia, the problem is not having more “punch”, but Zero punch/impact/thump on the hd595. Without having “blasting” bass, at least it should be rendered to a minimum, I find that something is lacking. Also, the clarity of the hd595 , make me feel that sometimes that I’m hearing behind clothes. I’d like something that would be pretty good at both extreme of extremes of frequencies spectrum, I think the hd595 is too focused on the mids. Somethings great both for techno & classical music, I care less for vocals.

Anonymous

I think you are reasoning just as if I was listening to a lot of mainstream music. Also the Michael Jackson example I’ve provided , is definitely not bassy (at least compared to techno / drum & bass). I would describe it more with fast paced highs, “nervous” , craving for aggressivity. And frankly overall MJ music is not much bassy. (I don’t think you’ve listened a lot from that artist) . About the techno example, I provided it because I found it’s almost unlistenable without a minimal punch, but I may give up with this kind of music.

I already have two headphones from Sennheiser (senn IE7 & hd595) , and don’t want to buy a third from the same brand. And that hd25-1 is ugly. If the amping was not so complicated (or expensive) with the k701, I would have take them because I love the k317 (except for the bass). So I’d stick with the srh940 at the end, I don’t know yet what “too bright” means. Hey, I’ve been enjoying Merzbow lately.

Anonymous

Merzbow is experimental music which is basically noise, which means heavily relying on treble . You said the headphones were too bright, I said I enjoyed recently Merzbow, and hence this “too bright” thing, doesn’t frighten me. At least I’ve read no review saying that people were suffering, because of too pronounced treble with the srh940. I’ve seen a guy complaining more about comfort however.

Anonymous

chong

I stood a chance to audit HD598 and few other headphones yesterday, end up i have made up my final decision to grab the K601. It seem more suitable for me. I am not good in describing the sound like what you audiophiles did, the only i can say is the k601 sound more relax than hd598 to me. 😛

Anonymous

Hmm.. perhaps similar bass body to the DT880 and K701, less than the HD600. As a neutral cans the SRH-940 is fine with the bass, but as a music listening device I feel that more bass would’ve been good.

But as I wrote on the review the SRH-940 was meant to be a monitoring cans, so I guess it’s fine as it is, if you’re using it for monitoring.

Jack

I hear that. For a lot of things I really like the natural sound and detail of the 940’s, but a lot of the time I reach for more fun headphones. If they managed to squeeze a little more bass out of these things while keeping the great tone and extension they’d be perfect to me.

Jack

Anonymous

Lol for a moment I was like “1040s”?

Well, Shure is more of a professional gear company so if they do make a 1040 headphone it’ll probably be a monitoring headphone too. Of course they can make an audiophile sounding headphone, just like they do with the IEMs.

Anonymous

Lol for a moment I was like “1040s”?

Well, Shure is more of a professional gear company so if they do make a 1040 headphone it’ll probably be a monitoring headphone too. Of course they can make an audiophile sounding headphone, just like they do with the IEMs.

joe

Anonymous

Well, I find it hard to compare the bass on the two headphones since they are voiced very differently; Shure is precise monitoring, the Senn is mellow semi-laid back audiophile headphone. Both headphones happen to be okay with bass. The Shure is perhaps more articulate, clearer. While Senn has never been a big fan of clear bass articulation. 🙂

joe

hmm..ok.. i understand that completely.. but, i am thinking about replacing my hd 598 with something closed..because the ambient noise where i live here is very annoying.. do you have any reccomendation?? i am interested in these cans, as i am looking for a balanced presentation like 598..

Anonymous

Joe, If you are looking for something that sounds like the HD598 but closed .. I don’t know I would look for a closed-back Sennheiser. But at the moment I can’t think of a closed back mid-fi Senn except for the RS170 wireless model.

I’ve actually done a review of the RS180 (which is also open-back) and the review has been quite favorable.

Chris

hey,

I’m looking for new headphones for producing club music. Concerning the price, 300$ is the maximum i want to spend. I’ve read through a bunch of reviews/articles but I can’t decide. Which headphones would you recommend me most for producing music?

Chris

Great review! I’ve had these for a couple of weeks now and I absolutely love them! I’m running them without an amp, directly from my computer right now and I suspect they can only get better. So can anyone recommend me a good matching desktop-amp for the srh940?

Anonymous

Nicol

Have you heard the Sony SA-5000? I’m curious how these compare, and what these are like with string instruments and female vocals.With my personal tastes, I like a vivid, bright, wet sound. Think female vocals where you can sense her lips and tone, and I prefer a crystal clear ‘staccato’ sound on violin strings, (not a smoothed over, legato sound). Do you think I’ll like the SRH-940?

Anonymous

Nicol

Mike, I heard the SRH-940 now and they are a stunning headphone, I highly enjoyed them. I appreciate your review here which in part made me very curious about them.They really excelled at strings and female vocals like I suspected.I think the SRH-940 [from memory] is a level higher than the SA-5000, I thought the SRH-940 was THE headphone for me…… until later that day when I heard the ATH-A2000X. I felt the A2000X is a headphone on a higher level than anything I’ve ever heard, especially in realism, even surpassing Stax, and a level up from the SRH-940, even in detail retrieval.Just curious if you have any thoughts on this mysterious model?

Anonymous

Interesting review!

Can you elaborate on how these compare to the ATH-M50? Call me a fanboy, but so far, I’ve listened to more headphones than I care to remember. At it’s price point, it seems that the ATH-M50 beats pretty much every closed headphone under $300 in terms of overall sound reproduction, and in some aspects beats more expensive ones.

Also, how is the soundstage on these cans? Closed cans aren’t exactly known for their soundstage.

Anonymous

Hi Chris, The SRH-940 is more detailed, more forward, faster paced, more articulate (especially bass region) and has more treble than the M-50. The soundstage is more accurate, though not as wide as the M-50. The M-50 is more laid back, smoother, wider soundstage though not as accurate, looser on the bass, and the vocal presence is not as spot on as the SRH-940.

Anonymous

Donunus

Have you heard the dt48e yet? I have these right now and was wondering if the shures were as ridiculously transparent as these. These also have more mids and less treble than the dt880s. less bass too but very coherent and evil good low level detail.

Anonymous

Don, I heard the dt48e with a bunch of friends and none of us thinks that there is any good in those cans except for the mids. I don’t know, a bad pair perhaps? I certainly didn’t think it has low level detail. The housing reverb was awful too.

Anyway I think the Shure is the type that pushes those details out, somehow similar to how the DT880s are. So the character is very different than the DT48e.

Donunus

My dt48e doesn’t have any reverb at all. By the way, they also get better the more you sweat and the seal gets better. It becomes like a suction cup sticking on your head before the sound is at its best. The dt880s lacked lots of detail compared to these. Those had peaky highs so I couldn’t really hear lots of background detail besides the highs. Anyway Its either different pairs or just different tastes I guess. Thats weird though about the reverb. Anyway, i hope to hear these shures someday.

Anonymous

bookaboo

hi mike,

great review again

i am looking into a closed headphone and these seem to be ticking all the boxes so far. i was just wondering if the treble extension was of the piercing variety as i am sensitive to treble. for example i find the treble on my dt770 pros too much and much prefer the treble on my hd 650 so where does the treble on the srh940 lie? closer to the sennheiser or the beyer? i have read that these are comparable to the dt880 in sound but the only reservation i have is in the treble region. i listen to mostly classic rock, blues, country, folk, acoustic.

bookaboo

Anonymous

What music ?

The Dt250 is okay, it’s an old headphone with old drivers — roughly the same technicalities as the HD25-1 but less exciting tonal balance (I’d recommend the HD25-1 more). The SRH-840 is less trebly than the 940, but being monitoring drivers it also shows sibilance. The Monster beats pro, never auditioned it.

If you are sensitive to treble, chances are you’re more into mids and lows. Try the B&W P5.

bookaboo

hi mike,

thanks for the advice and prompt replies.

i listen to a wide range of music pop, classic rock, country, folk, r n b and acoustic. i have had the hd25 in the past and have had to give them up because of the harshness of the exposed sibilance. i have also had the P5 liked the sound but didnt like the feel of them (i know im a fussy customer but comfort is also a factor for me). the monster beats pro is similar in sound signature to the beats studio you reviewed but with a little more bass punch and more forward mids. they sound like an even bassier HD650 if thats an indication. i find them a little bit too bassy on some music (acoustic, country, etc) but the top end is great on my old rock muso ears so maybe a compromise is in order . i can get them through work at a reasonable price so i may give them a try (and send you a review 🙂 unless you think that the dt250 is a better allrounder.

Anonymous

Sounds like a hard ear to satisfy there.

I think you have to realize that at the end you can’t end up with one perfect headphone to suit all recordings. Like the issue you mentioned with the HD25-1 and sibilance. The HD25-1 is pretty rolled off in the top treble and is not a particularly sibilant headphone, but a lot of recordings have very strong amount of sibilance in them and there is nothing short of a heavy attenuation in the treble that will kill those sibilance.

The P5 sounds like the headphone with the sound that would fit you, but apparently you don’t enjoy the fit. The Monster Beats Pro also doesn’t sound like the proper headphone since you find it to have too much bass. I don’t think that the DT250 will be any different in this case, or even the much newer DT1350.

bookaboo

bookaboo

hi mike,

hey i went out and auditioned the srh840 and loved it so much i took it home. just the sound i was after. also was reading some eq tips that dononus posted in the he 300 discussion for the dt990 and tried them on the dt770 and am enjoying this sound as well do i think i’ll hang onto these as well. what a great site this is that we can learn so much from not only yourself but the other posters as well.

Anonymous

i have a few closed headphones in mind and i was hoping you could help me decide. im looking for something with plenty of isolation ( bringing headphones on bus/train), it has to have amazing quality ( i want to hear things ive never heard before ).

Anonymous

If you want to hear things you never heard before, I think the SRH-940 would be better. But the M-50 has a better isolation. I’m not sure the SRH-940 would isolate on a train ride. IEMs would be best for that.

Keep in mind though that the amount of detail you can hear is limited on the recordings you listen to. Some recordings are not that detailed and it’s not going to change anything even if you upgrade to $1k headphones. Taken from the FAQ: http://headfonia.com/faq/

The next most important thing is recording quality. Recording quality is a very big factor in the overall Hi-Fi chain, as you simply can’t get a good sound with a bad recording. Good music is always good music regardless of the recording, but the recording is what will give you that Hi-Fi sound through your headphones. Try playing a mono Beatles recording through your $50,000 headphone system and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Sadly, many great music and albums have sub-par and even bad quality recordings.

It’s also important to be able to differentiate the different types of recordings so you can tell if a certain fault in the sound is caused from the recording or from the headphones. A very common example is sibilance. Some recordings have very high level of sibilance and it’ll show through in almost all headphones — that’s not the fault of the headphone. Another important fact to notice is the recording technique. Most Pop/Rock recordings these days are done in a closed, soundproof studio, and there would be no real soundstage inherent in the recordings. So don’t blame your headphones if the soundstage sounds flawed, constricted, or artificial, because that’s not the fault of the headphone.

Live recordings are almost always the best types of recordings to evaluate the overall acoustic performance of a headphone — there you’ll be able to tell an accurate soundstage from a fake one, micro detail levels, ambiance feel, et cetera.

but to go into more detail, 90% of my music is rock. particularly post hardcore and screamo ” Of Mice & Men, Asking Alexandria, Woe is Me” etc etc. so can the srh940’s deliver the bass i need or should i get the ath m50s?

another thing. if the answer is the m50 then should i get the pro700 mk2 “seeing as they manage to go even harder.” and OMG sorry for rambling but i think this would be better in a list instead lol

for hard rock and screamo – srh940, ath m50 pro700 mk2?

are the pro700 mk2 so bassy that they are muddy and decrease quality of the music because clarity to me is everything.?

Anonymous

I got my srh940, and I realize that the word “monster” in the title isn’t necessarily positive. I found the exaggerated treble , hurting the musicality of some song. On some pop music, I hear almost only percussions, and bass is drown in the background. I got a more satisfying sound using an eq, in fact a vst chain, but is it anymore the “original” headphone ? Also I didn’t find the trebble that much impressive, I didn’t see the point of over emphasizing it. I was lured by the fact that these headphones were supposed to be good for professionals, but I think it’s misleading.

Anonymous

Thanks for the comment, Mehdi. But did you actually read the review?

Copy and pasted from the review:

Overall the SRH-940 is still primarily a linear headphone geared more toward monitoring, as most music listeners would prefer a fuller and punchier lows, more mid coloration, and a less intense treble, even if that means less detail levels and looser bass. In that sense you can take something totally different like the heavily warm and colored B&W P5 headphone, and feel that music flows better out of the P5. But there are times when we want to hear those details in the recordings, and in a way, the SRH-940 gives me almost the same detailed sensation I hear on the Beyerdynamic DT880 headphone, except with better mids and vocal reproduction.

Dear headfonia, the thing I retained the more from you article is the final “Quite a winning product, in my opinion”. Every other descriptions were more or less technicalities I couldn’t understand or be convinced until I tried them (I’m a noob regarding high end headphones) . Also explain me how they are supposed to be good “professional monitors”, because how could you ensure that the music “sound right” in your recording , if from the begin the treble is over-emphasized ? In that regard , I find that my hd595 are better if you wish to remaster a track (it’s more neutral from the start). Anyway I’m not saying that these are bad headphones, I’d say that I was somehow surprised.

Anonymous

Hapster

Dleblanc343

Hi there. So I was thinking about getting these, but then the grado ms2i’s caught my attention. And well, now I’m also somewhat interested in the k702. From what I understand, the shure’s would be the most detailed, while the ms2i’s would probably be the most neutral? The k702’s are comfortable from what I heard, but what are it’s main strengths? I am looking for something different than my srh440’s, lack of bass is not a problem, but I’d like to hear it lol :P. I want something neutral- somewhat trebly; something detailed but not necessarily overkill. I tried the 940 at a local audio shop briefly, tried them with my e7/e9, sounded good, but I can’t compare to the other two. It wasnt too bright for me, but very revealing when tried with older recordings.

So to be more clear, what can you say about each headphone, and their respective strengths and weaknesses when put against eachother?

Anonymous

Simon Guilmain

Hello Mike. I currently own the SRH-940 and I appreciate the detail and balanced tehy offer. I fine them musical but would like a bit more presence in the lower frequency. I’m not a Bass head (Far from it) but they are my only pair of full-size close headphone and with some genre of music the extra bass would be nice. I owned the Denon D5000 before and just trade them for MS-Pro (And I’m very happy with that trade ;^p). My question is would you recommend the Sony Z1000 or the Audio Technica W1000x to replace the SRH-940? Here’s a sample of the music I listen: Dave Matthews Band, Marillion, Porcupine Tree, Radiohead, Morcheeba, Mogwai, Pat Metheny, Yo-Yo Ma.

Anonymous

Hi Simon, If you’re looking for a closed headphone then the Z1000 is one of the finest and the most balanced around.

Otherwise you can also look at the HD600, it will give you the detail and the resolution and all the good stuff (though it’s darker than the SRH-940) but with a very good bass impact which you don’t get with either the Shure SRH-940 or the Z1000.

Anonymous

Hi Simon, If you’re looking for a closed headphone then the Z1000 is one of the finest and the most balanced around.

Otherwise you can also look at the HD600, it will give you the detail and the resolution and all the good stuff (though it’s darker than the SRH-940) but with a very good bass impact which you don’t get with either the Shure SRH-940 or the Z1000.

Kid

Heya! Some questions here. I listen mostly to Jpop music and it seems like this genre is kinda wide with some more into bassy (like abit of techno) and and some with guitar/piano cover and the most important is the female vocal. Wanted to upgrade form SRH-440 and currently looking into this SRH-940. Looked into forums and saw it was kinda bass-shy. So is the SRH-940 suitable for J-pop genre or SRH-840 will do the job or any other headphones? Thanks!

Kid

And mostly J-pop music surely has band instruments. So wanna get headphone with this criteria: – Vocal presentation and separation (mid) – instrument separation – just enough or little bit more bass like SRH-440 – Detailed sounding – average soundstage is alright

Or do you have any ideas on amp that can make this SRH-940 sound more bassy which is closer to SRH-840 or SRH-440?

Anonymous

Hi Kid,

Jpop is mostly high energy, full of beat, fast paced music, except for some bands and female vocalists. Rather than finding a headphone based on individual bass-vocal-soundstage-separation aspect, it’s best to find a headphone that will work well with the energy of Jpop music.

I think the DT1350 would be a good headphone to look at for Jpop. The Shures simpy won’t work. Not the 840, not the 940. Not to mention that the monitoring headphones (like the Shures) will show you every bit of the sibilance prevalent in Jpop recordings.

Kid

Anonymous

The E10 or E11 with bass-boost would help boost the bass level to make it more SRH-840 like yes, but it won’t be the same as the SRH-840. The HD600 is a different headphone with different characteristics and sound.

madriz

Anonymous

Hi Madriz, Very close but I think the DT880 still has a slight edge. I can hear better ambiance details on live recordings on the DT880, but for studio recorded songs the difference is probably irrelevant.

Neoavlaon

I really do have a STUPID question. I was gonna buy pxc 450 which normally priced at 279. Then all of sudden, Amazon raised their price to 319. I gave up and start to looking for alternatives. I stumble upon SRH940. Made the purchase, and Crazy Amazon lower the price of PXC450 to 243. No I am thinking to cancel my order and switch back to PXC450, if you were me what would you choose?

Neoavalon

I think by now there is still a window of opportunity for me to cancel my order.

Maybe I should see a therapist regarding “how to make decisions” . I know. But now, I just could not make the call. I admire PXC450 isolation. But at the same time, I am impressed with SRH940.I mostly listening to jazz, new age, classical, and vocal.

Hey I’m a sound tech at my church and a DJ at a radio station. I currently use the shure srh440’s I have been thinking of upgrading to the 940’s I also listen to my iPod with them on a regular basis. Any advise?

Guessous Mehdi Imed

My first impression with the srh940 was depressing , but then I enjoyed them much more after modding them. Could you try this easy , and reversible mod ? I just increased the depth of ear cup, by inserting piece of rope basically in each cup (1 cm thick, roughly, 24 cm length). I found them better balanced after that, and also clarity was improved (don’t be skeptical without trying). If you can’t or don’t want to try, well never mind.

Also I bought recently the hd25 II 1 you were recommending me instead of the srh940, I’ll admit they are much more fun and put me in a good mood (vs the “depression” I got first when trying the srh940) . Off the three “full size” headphones I own now : hd595, srh940, hd25 II, I think the hd25 II is the one I like the best.

Jazzeroo

Firstly, I will not say this 940 has got staggering detail as I personally find its musical presentation almost designed to please all and is probably geared more towards a longer listening rather than a full -on detailed examination the recorded material. Nothing wrong with that but as far as monitoring headphones it claims to be, it just passes in my opinion. It is pleasant and enjoyable enough to warrant an endorsement.

Treble it has plenty but it lacks attack and precision. They are all there but they are not all there and in some cases, the 940 seems confused and noisy instead of delivering clarity. Cymbals (ride or crash) tend to sound almost similar when really harmonics have a lot to do with cymbal tones and pitch rather than just treble and the 940 is found wanting in that area. So you get this wash of highs with no specific tone in some busy passages.

As for bass, that it has plenty too, but again fails to disclose precise notes expected of it at the low end and instead tend to sound lazy. The mids and high-mids are quite good and anything strummed, plucked, vocalized and bowed are lush and pleasing. Just don’t expect snare hits that will chop your head off. It hasn’t got that intensity.

Like I said, maybe the designers deliberately chose this sound signature to be less fatiguing rather than being articulate and precise which could get tiresome as is mostly the case with too precise a musical presentation. I guess maybe my 940s need more time to burn-in as it seems to get better every time I use it or also maybe I am getting used to its signature sound rather than expecting it to be any different. It still is my first-call headphone for most applications and its closed back keep out enough noise to make it enjoyable and others not to be disturbed on planes and crowded places. It is almost portable. Soundstage and imaging like these in a headphone are seldom portable. These Shure SRH-940s certainly belong in the high-end world of headphones, and justifiably so for their price and sound, but just enjoy the musical experience rather than the absolute details. The AKGS and Senns tend to do those slightly better—just.

juan salazar

hey! nice page bro. can you give some advice i’m looking for a monitor headphone that is less colored for mixing purposes. I’m interested on the 840, 940, Akg Q701, and i would like to know what are your thoughts about the sen HD380 and their relation with the ones above.

juan salazar

juan salazar

I did it! Lol! I bought the SH940! and they are amazing!!!! crystal clear! i love the detail very nice for mixing, monitoring and just hearing music. As a musician when a i hear music i like to catch the details and with this ones you surely can. Thanks for your review is very accurate as what i’m hearing now with this cans.

It’s a very close comparison. The Beyer may be the more detailed one, but honestly I’m not so sure. I think the bottom line is that both headphones are very comfortable and very detailed. Detail level should be more than enough, unless you are really trying to find spots in the recording.

Well it may seem so on paper, but for music listening I’d go for the Shure. The DT880 sounds extremely spacious, too spacious often that it diffuses the energy of the music if you listen to Rock. The Shure on the other hand focuses the energy pretty well and the PRaT factor is great.

Richard, For classic rock like stones and dylan, definitely go with the Shure SRH940. The K550 is too wide (the soundstage) and the bass a bit slow in pace and weak in punch, it doesn’t really suit rock. The SRH940 is a much better choice for Rock.

breizh

SSA

Hey Mike,

Thanks a lot for the review. It has been a huge help for me to make a shortlist for the headphones I am planning to buy. I am currently stuck between AKG 550 and the Shure SRH 940. I know you previously said that for rock music SRH does the job better, how about other types? Classical, solo piano and jazz? Which one would you go with? Or would you reccomend Focal Spirit One or P5 of B&W over the initial two?

SSA

Trent_D

I used to own the K550. It’s a nice headphone, but it also needed an amp. Not to drive it, as it, like the dt770 is easy to drive, but it was quite revealing of its components. What will you be plugging these into? Ipod? e10?

SSA

Hi,

Yes, likely an Ipod/Iphone, but also the amp at home. I thought at 80 ohms, I may not be able to use it without an amp. I may get an additional headphone amp down the line but for now, it will be plugged in a mobile device or a rather old integrated amp (with which I use either a pc or a cd player to play music)

If I may, what is it that makes you feel that one should go with Beyer and not AKG (or Shure, Focal, P5 for that matter). Did you have problems with K550? I did test-drive it and one thing, for instance, that scares me is the force of the clamp. Was that a worry for you as well? Thank you for your time.

dalethorn

If you already have the SRH940, adding bass may present difficulties and introduce distortion, since the low-cost analog amps will generally muddy the 940’s bass, and a DAC/amp like the Dragonfly will make it even tighter or thinner. In my opinion a better thing would be to reduce the very bright treble, which will make the bass more apparent, and add much less distortion.

Thanks dalethorn! I tried c421 with srh940 this morning and I found that c421 added more bass quantity and impact but srh940 got a blacker background with absolutely zero distortion when paired with this amp. I also tried this with fiio e11 and found that this amp added more bass quantity but less bass impact than c421. But I am now having no chance to try it with o2 and alo mk3 yet. So I want to know how srh940 sound when paired with these amp?

Thanks again dalethorn! But there’s no Lehmannaudio BCL amp to be auditioned in my country and this is not a portable amp also. I upgraded srh940 from my old ath-m50 so I seek a portable amp for more bass impact to make srh940 sound more engaging like my old m50. What I really impressed on srh940 is that there is no sibilance on treble which is sometimes too bright for my taste so I fixed it by EQ-ing and mid is very forward (after EQ-ing) on srh940 when compared to m50 which is my preferred sound signature.

dalethorn

The 940 may improve on the *impression* you have of its impact with a different amp, but at most it will be a miniscule change, and because the M50 bass (especially the deep bass) is so much stronger than the 940, it will not make much difference. The only practical way to be assured of a better match is to audition several amps in person.

Bahadir

Hi, I have a question about the build quality. Because other than that I am sold when it comes to Shure. I have a pair of 6 year old Shure IEMs which needed service once after the warranty expired because of the cable and Shure replaced the cable for free.

So, is there anyone here who’s been using the 940’s for a while and had a problem with them? There are forum topics on a cracking issue and I don’t know if people are abusing these headphones or something but it seems like a common problem. I wouldn’t want to buy 250 Euro headphones just for them to break in a year so please comment if you’ve had any experience with this.

dalethorn

I had the 940 for 6 months or so, and donated it to someone who needed a headphone. No durability issues at all. The Shure headphones seem very good to me in build quality. I’ve had the 940, 1440, and 1840.

Kartoffelmao

Yes, mine broke easy… The tuning on headband breaks very easy just from normal use of taking the headphones on and off my head. Even though the sound is terriffic im rather gonna go for the Philips Fidelio X1 or the new Fidelio L2.

Gabriel

dalethorn

I haven’t heard the 840 but the soundstage of the 940 is unusually good for a closed headphone. The reason I replied even though I haven’t heard the 840 is because I want to suggest that a lot of the impression of soundstage with the 940 is due to the strong treble (i.e. why it’s called the detail monster). I’ll bet if you EQ’d the treble of both headphones to be more comparable, the soundstage would also become more similar.